WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Order

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◈ The Heaven-Slaying Sword ◈

Chapter 56: Chapter Six - Escort Journey, Fateful Encounter (6)

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Mok Seon-o had once said:

“Won, if you enter the Martial World, the day will come when you must cut someone down.”

The Martial World was a place where one proved oneself with a sword. Someday, the tip of that sword would pierce someone’s flesh.

That was simply the nature of the Martial World.

“This master does not know who your opponent will be that day. They may be a vile fiend, someone forced to commit evil, or simply a madman.”

“...Then who should I cut down?”

“Do not seek to cut down anyone.”

Young Mok Ri-won had not understood.

He could not understand the words Mok Seon-o spoke with a gentle smile.

That was only natural.

The words Mok Seon-o had spoken back then were difficult to grasp.

“Simply swing your sword to prove something.”

“To prove something?”

“That you are not evil. That your sword is for Chivalry. Swing it to prove that.”

Only now did Mok Ri-won think he understood those words.

“Look to your convictions, not the person before you, when you swing your sword.”

He steadied his stance.

Pae Ung-chu shot toward him.

With his feet firmly planted, Mok Ri-won drew back his sword.

Ink-black Qi Waves sharpened to a razor’s edge.

Then they surged forth.

The first sword form perfected by the founding patriarch of the Star-Linking Sect while gazing upon the Big Dipper.

Seven-Star Halberd Sword.

Boom!

Ink-black Qi Waves pierced Pae Ung-chu’s joints.

Blood sprayed.

Pae Ung-chu’s eyes widened, then he let out a laugh.

“Ha!”

Mok Ri-won did not stop.

He had only unleashed the first move.

Tap.

Without wavering from his stance, he followed with another stroke.

The second, third, and fourth moves, followed by the fifth through seventh moves that targeted the lower body.

He unleashed every move and drove Pae Ung-chu back.

That was not all.

‘Wield my convictions and what I have learned as they were meant to be wielded.’

Mok Ri-won repeated those words to himself.

He ignored the sensation of his blade cutting into flesh. He ignored the scent of blood that burst forth with it and steadied his stance.

‘Wield what I have learned as it was meant to be wielded.’

Mok Ri-won could see it.

The openings and weaknesses that would let him kill the man if he thrust in now.

The trajectories of the fists aimed at him, each filled with Killing Intent.

And his own potential to shatter them and grow stronger.

Yet he turned away from them.

Not to kill his opponent, but to uphold the Chivalry he had learned through the sword.

Thinking only of that, he unleashed his Qi Waves.

Ink-black Qi Waves condensed.

They wrapped gently around his sword, creating a flow like rippling water.

Second Form, Meteor Sword.

It was a sword form inspired by a meteor the man who became the founding patriarch of the Star-Linking Sect had happened to see one night while practicing swordsmanship.

It was unmistakably a quick sword.

The sword fell straight from overhead, leaving a long, ink-black line in the air for an instant.

Slice.

Pae Ung-chu’s clothes were cut.

A red line appeared across the skin beneath.

Mok Ri-won ignored that as well.

Then he continued into the next form.

“Won, the Star-Linking Sect is a sect of chivalrous heroes. The Star-Linking Divine Technique is the martial art of chivalrous heroes. We place romantic spirit within our swords, not Killing Intent.”

Whoosh!

Qi Waves flowing from Mok Ri-won’s body took command of the surroundings.

The Third Form was one he had only recently become able to use, after reaching the level where he could send his Qi Waves far beyond his body.

“So, Won, do not look for vital points as you swing your sword. Do not look for Killing Intent. Simply look to what you wish to accomplish with this sword.”

Pae Ung-chu’s body stiffened.

He sensed danger.

A delighted smile spread across his face.

‘I cannot block this.’

This was not a sword form to be blocked.

The sword form about to unfold clearly crossed into the realm of Qi Arts.

‘Then...!’

He had to answer with Qi Arts as well.

Pae Ung-chu’s demonic qi boiled.

It covered his entire body, then stretched beyond it.

Even then, Mok Ri-won continued to thrust his sword with a grim expression.

“The founding patriarch practiced only one sword form for an entire year. Yet they say the meaning carved into that form changed as the constellations in the sky shifted.”

Mok Ri-won’s widely spread Qi Waves glimmered faintly.

Pale white points of light appeared throughout the area.

“There was a passage in the journal left by the founding patriarch. ‘There are twelve constellations that tell us the passing of the seasons and time. Through them, I was able to notice the growth of my sword.’”

Stars shone in the ink-black night sky.

“Won, from today onward, you will look upon those constellations with this master for one year. Etch every one of them into your eyes, until you can recall their shapes perfectly whenever you wish.”

Mok Ri-won recreated the constellations he had once etched into his vision by looking up at the night sky every evening.

His sword shot forward.

It passed through the unusually bright points of light.

Third Form, Twelve Zodiac Sword.

The points brushed by his sword exploded outward.

Boom!

A prolonged explosion rang out.

Even then, Mok Ri-won continued unfolding his sword forms without pause.

Pae Ung-chu spread both palms.

He condensed the demonic qi surrounding his body between them.

He was among those who had reached the end of the Peak Realm.

An art achievable only once one’s martial attainment had advanced far enough to exert physical force through Qi Waves alone.

Qi Arts.

With a long smile that looked ready to split his face apart, Pae Ung-chu watched the white points opening their maws toward him.

Then he hurled the round mass of qi at them.

Demonic Orb Throw.

He gathered his ever-boiling demonic qi into one point and cast it forward.

Mok Ri-won’s sword collided with Pae Ung-chu’s orb.

Soon, the entire area was dyed white.

* * *

The surrounding trees and brush had all been crushed, leaving behind a wasteland.

At its center, Mok Ri-won panted heavily.

It was only natural that he looked wretched.

He had unleashed those sword forms after taking a direct hit. On top of that, he had used them while suppressing the urges tormenting him.

The burden had inevitably been several times greater than when he normally used sword forms.

Dust scattered through the air, obscuring his vision.

Mok Ri-won glared sharply into it.

Before long, his view cleared.

“Not bad!”

Pae Ung-chu stood there on both feet, laughing.

He was not uninjured either.

The center of his chest had been crushed by the blast and melted red, while one arm hung in tatters.

For Mok Ri-won, it was a despairing sight.

His condition had reached the point where he could no longer swing his sword through sheer will alone.

If he kept fighting, he might ultimately lose to his instincts.

Grit.

Mok Ri-won ground his teeth.

He forced his trembling arm still and adjusted his grip on his sword.

Pae Ung-chu watched the entire process as if he were enjoying himself.

Then he said, “Is that the sword of a chivalrous hero?”

Mok Ri-won flinched.

Without launching another attack, Pae Ung-chu asked again.

“Is that the sword you wield while suppressing the Heavenly Slaughter Star? Hm? Have you nothing more to show?”

Despite his condition, Pae Ung-chu did not lose any of his momentum.

He simply took a step forward, looking delighted as he continued questioning him.

He was in an exceptionally good mood.

“How interesting! A sword unleashed in desperate struggle by the likes of you, yet so ruinous! So aggressive, yet without Killing Intent!”

Mok Ri-won’s sword was the strangest sword Pae Ung-chu had encountered in his life.

A sword that killed without Killing Intent. That contradiction brought Pae Ung-chu immense delight.

“Show me more! That cannot be the end! Is this not the Chivalry you are so confident in? Did you not say that a chivalrous hero is one who walks a difficult path?”

Pae Ung-chu’s demonic qi boiled again.

It gathered in his one arm that could still move.

Mok Ri-won squeezed the Internal Energy from his dantian.

Crack.

A sound like crushed blood vessels rang in Mok Ri-won’s ears.

It was a sign of internal injury.

‘How...?’

How was he supposed to overcome this crisis?

Just as Mok Ri-won’s throat went dry from that thought...

“Argh!”

A scream rang out from nearby.

Pae Ung-chu turned toward it.

So did Mok Ri-won.

Yet Mok Ri-won’s expression was far more serious than Pae Ung-chu’s.

‘Truly Great Person Gwak!’

He recognized that scream.

It belonged to Gwak Chil, with whom he had grown close over the past few days.

Something had happened.

As Mok Ri-won’s anxiety surged, Pae Ung-chu frowned and clicked his tongue.

“...Tsk. Why did they come this far already?”

Then he subdued his demonic qi.

What he did next was shocking.

Crack!

He twisted and broke his already tattered arm completely.

Mok Ri-won’s eyes widened as if they would split apart.

He could not understand Pae Ung-chu’s actions.

“What are you doing?”

When Mok Ri-won asked sharply, Pae Ung-chu answered, “What do you think? I am letting you go.”

Pae Ung-chu grumbled as though all his fun had evaporated.

He did not seem to care in the slightest about the pain of his broken arm.

“You can’t be captured yet. There is still so much I have not seen.”

As he spoke, Pae Ung-chu took out a signal flare from his waistband and set it off.

Then he turned around.

He headed in the opposite direction from where the scream had come.

“See you again soon, Ink Dragon!”

Then he ran off.

Mok Ri-won could only stare blankly at the spot where he had disappeared.

How much time passed like that?

“G-Great Hero...!”

Gwak Chil arrived where Pae Ung-chu had stood.

For someone who had screamed, he looked surprisingly unharmed.

* * *

“Unit Leader. Did you fail?”

“I did! The Heavenly Slaughter Star was more vicious than I expected!”

Back at the mountain stronghold, Pae Ung-chu showed his tattered arm to his adjutant.

The adjutant gasped and lowered their head.

“...Was he truly that strong?”

“He was strong! But I was stronger!”

The adjutant frowned.

They could not understand Pae Ung-chu’s words.

Pae Ung-chu chuckled.

“I would have won if capturing him alive had not been the goal!”

“Ah...!”

Understanding appeared on the adjutant’s face.

Leaving them behind, Pae Ung-chu entered one of the few intact buildings in the mountain stronghold.

‘Not yet!’

He had other things on his mind.

Driven mad by demonic qi and seeking only life-or-death battles, he placed his own desires above the Divine Cult’s orders.

Pae Ung-chu did not want to capture Mok Ri-won alive yet.

The Qi Arts Mok Ri-won had shown as his final move.

The sword that had surged forth alongside them, and the intent contained within it.

Pae Ung-chu wanted to see them again.

No, he did not simply want to see them again. He wanted to see a more developed form of them.

That was why he could not capture him alive.

The Ink Dragon had to grow stronger and complete that strange sword.

Pae Ung-chu chuckled as he sat cross-legged.

Then, with his eyes closed, he circulated his demonic qi.

‘This is fun.’

With a look of utmost delight, he sent demonic qi flowing into his blood vessels.

The bearer of the Heavenly Slaughter Star.

His growth would surely be faster than anyone could imagine. To prepare for their next fight, Pae Ung-chu would have to grow stronger as well.

With that in mind, Pae Ung-chu challenged the limits of his demonic qi.

Whoooom.

Demonic qi filled the building.

Then it began spreading thickly throughout the mountain stronghold.

His subordinates sensed the change and began guarding the surroundings.

One week passed.

The Fist Demon, Pae Ung-chu, reached the transcendent peak.

Footnotes:

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